Trump: Putin's compliments are a 'great honor'

The love between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin appears to be mutual.

According to an Interfax report of his annual year-end news conference, Putin called the Republican presidential candidate “a very bright and talented man,” as well as an “absolute leader” in the race for the presidency. (Another account, from Reuters, translated Putin as saying Trump is “a very flamboyant man.”)

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“He says that he wants to move to another level of relations, to a deeper level of relations with Russia. How can we not welcome that? Of course we welcome it,” Putin said, according to Reuters’ report.

The Russian president also said that it is none of his business “to assess tricks Donald Trump [is] using to boost his popularity,” according to Interfax.

Trump has repeatedly praised Putin's toughness and said he would be able to cut deals with him.

And Thursday afternoon, Trump expressed gratitude for the kind words.

"It is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond," Trump said in a statement. "I have always felt that Russia and the United States should be able to work well with each other towards defeating terrorism and restoring world peace, not to mention trade and all of the other benefits derived from mutual respect."

Trump said back in October that he and Putin would have a great working relationship. “He does not like Obama at all. He doesn't respect Obama at all. And I’m sure that Obama doesn’t like him very much,” he said. “But I think that I would probably get along with him very well. And I don’t think you’d be having the kind of problems that you're having right now.”

Trump has also backed Russia’s intervention in Syria, which Putin has said is aimed at eradicating the Islamic State. “And as far as him attacking ISIS, I'm all for it,” he told CBS News’ John Dickerson. “If he wants to be bombing the hell out of ISIS, which he's starting to do, if he wants to be bombing ISIS, let him bomb them, John. Let him bomb them. I think we probably work together much more so than right now.”